Day by Day and One by One
by Rae TB
Summary: After years of searching Hiro finally finds the diamond in the rough he's been looking for: Brooklyn. Hiro reflects on his father son relationship with him. Happy birthday kairia and FlamesofFury's mother!


Today is Kairia's AzureRevolution's birthday AND it's also the birthday of FlamesOfFury's mother. XD I REFUSE to miss more birthdays or occasions of people that are totally awe-inspiring, so this is their present. I tried really hard to make this something good, so I hope they like it. **Everyone wish Kairia and FlamesofFury's mother a happy birthday if you choose to review this.**

Dedication: To Kairia for being an awesome reviewer, an amazing web designer, and an all around good person. Also, to FlamesofFury's mother who was nice enough to take the time to read Truly and Shades of Grey. Happy birthday you two! X.x

---

The world is filled with beybladers.

The vast majority ranges from young children to teenagers all of varying levels of skill. 

The number of individuals that now take to the streets to blade is inconceivable. It's one of those situations where Darwin's theory is put to use: only the fittest survive in this sport. Day by day, one by one the weak are rooted out. Day by day, and one by one the feeble fall to make way for the true champions. 

_Day by day. _

_One by one._

I searched the masses _day by day_, _one by one _looking for that _one_ golden blader.

The _one_ and _only_ blader that could truly be called the diamond in the rough.

I eagerly waited for the day that _they_ would come along. I eagerly waited for the day where I could teach them to harness the power they had within.

Until then, all I could do was continue my search, seeking out the ultimate blader.

_Day by day_ and _one_ _by one. _

It seemed as though it would never come to pass...I would never discover the one that could outshine the rest. But then it happened...the day I found _him_.

---

In the beginning, I had decided I already knew who my jewel was. But I was _wrong_.

As badly as I wished for my baby brother Tyson to be "the one"...as easy as it was to assume him to be the chosen...he wasn't. Sure, he had beaten Tala, Zeo, and _almost_ all other challenges dished out to him previously, but _almost_ doesn't cut it.

Tyson is a golden child, one of the chosen few that can compete at such a high level. But while gold is pretty, it doesn't shine with the same radiance a diamond does. While Tyson is good, he will never compare to Brooklyn. He simply cannot measure up to a genius, a prodigy, someone who is a god in his own right.

Maybe it was our brotherly bond that blinded me – how I wanted someone that had the same blood I did coursing through his veins to be "the one". I already knew it wouldn't be me...Rei Kon had proven that. I might have won our little battle, but I didn't win like the chosen would have. The chosen blader would be someone born with a natural talent to outshine the rest. It would be someone who wouldn't have to try and had never lost before.

There is no doubt in my mind now that Brooklyn is "the one". There is no one else like him...no one else so complex yet so _simplistic_ in nature. He delights in the smaller things of life...butterflies, flowers, caterpillars...everything found in the world around him he views to be fascinating. And yet...there are so many layers to him, so many sides all of which must be treated with great care.

When I first discovered Brooklyn my attitude was that of a small child who has stumbled across a ruby. I knew I had found _something_, but I couldn't fathom just how precious my discovery truly was. I thought the redhead's blading skills would simply be good. 

Instead, they were _great_.

At the time I had found him, he had been hanging back from the other teens, simply watching the training with an air of superiority. It was the vibe that he exuded that pulled me toward him. There was something different about him...something..._free_. From the start, I knew he would be hard to teach. But that's why I wanted him and _only_ him as my student. He was a challenge, something special.

Brooklyn wasn't the kind to listen to anybody, let alone sit still for a long period of time and allow a boring lecture to be shoved down his throat. He was like the birds he spent so much time with: the embodiment of liberty. He wouldn't answer to _any_ person. After all, there was no reason he should have had to listen to anyone...Brooklyn was at a level above us all. _He_ should have been the one calling the shots.

We were total opposites in so many ways. I was strict, controlling, hardworking...He was a dreamer, free, and lazy. Perhaps that's why I found myself soon thinking of him as a son. At heart, Brooklyn was a child, one that brought out the best in me.

He was still quite the trying individual. But I never once considered giving up on him. I was finally rewarded the day he told me he'd give my advice a try and allowed me to position his arms for launch. The results were far greater than I had expected. The impact of his blade against the rock sent shards flying backward with a resounding boom. When the dust settled there was nothing to be left but rubble: the remains of what was once a mighty rock.

At that moment, realization hit me with more force than Brooklyn's blade had exerted. There was a chance...he could be _the one_. Just this one launch during his first ever practice session had already gone past my wildest dreams. This was the first time I had begun to comprehend what I had come across.

I'll never forget how Brooklyn's lips turned up into a small smile as he chuckled lightly. The noise gently shook his shoulders as it filled the atmosphere around us. The sound was a thousand times more joyous and beautiful than any musical note could ever hope to be. He sighed softly after he had turned around to look at me, "What do you know...Heh, maybe you have something to teach me after all," he grinned lightly. "I'll meet you same time, same place tomorrow. Bye coach!" Brooklyn waved, walking away before I could get a word in.

_Day by day,_ I trained him.

_One by one,_ all doubts of his abilities faded into nothingness.

We grew closer, but despite this I never really knew him for _him_. I knew what he stood for, what he believed in...I knew how he was a vegan, and how he hated competing. He much would have preferred staying under radar and remaining outside to commune with nature. There was no way I could allow this, however. I had already made it quite clear to Kai he was no match for Brooklyn, now it was time to prove it. Brooklyn eventually agreed, not understanding why I was so uptight about wanting him to be a part of that. It's a shame he couldn't realize it was a waste of his talent for him not to be involved in such a decisive tournament. The one BEGA was holding to find their team was just a warm up for the Justice Five, but it was his ticket there. It would be his key to the biggest beyblade event in history.

As expected, he spent every minute up to his match in the outdoors, playing with his "friends". Needless to say, Kai was annoyed at being made to wait, but that was how Brooklyn worked. He was much more relaxed about the tournaments than anyone else. Maybe that was what bothered Kai the most about Brooklyn, the fact that he _didn't_ care, the fact that he didn't have to try. Some of us couldn't afford _not_ to care.

Brooklyn wasn't one of those people as his match soon proved.

He beat Kai with ease, with grace, with talent, with skill. He bladed like a true prodigy would, like the _king_ of the sport would. In a way, that's what he was, what he _is_: the dark king of blading. His win was delivered in the usual fashion: Brooklyn had done virtually nothing but stay stationary in the middle of the dish, occasionally dodging. He copied one of Kai's attacks and dug under his skin like a parasite, feeding off of the other's rage. Not only did he get to Kai, he seemed to be _enjoying_ it. Maybe he was; Brooklyn was always a different person when he bladed. The entire thing was a massacre; Brooklyn had won before the battle had even started.

I hadn't been surprised, he won just the way he was supposed to, just the way the diamond in the rough was meant to. It was the first time I got the chance to glimpse Brooklyn's dark side. Up until that point it had been his gentle kind side that had trained with me. This new part of him might have bothered anybody else, but I embraced it. All of his power came directly from that part of him. If fostering this darkness was what it took for me to reach my goal of the ultimate blader, so be it. While I cared about Brooklyn and viewed him as a son and a student, he was first and foremost a tool, a way to end my life's journey and use for the honor of training the best blader in the _world_.

Little did I know that fostering his darkness would prove to be a huge mistake. Little did I know that the tighter I held him in my grasp, the sooner he would begin to suffocate. Little did I know that it would be this suffocation that would cause him to escape. Like I said earlier, Brooklyn was like the birds he played with: something meant to soar through and above the clouds with the wind underneath his wings.

"Did you enjoy your battle Brooklyn?" I had asked.

"Oh yes, especially when I got to toy with Kai," he chuckled darkly. This wasn't the light hearted laugh it had been earlier, this sound was something much more sinister and possessed.

"Good," I had said, leaving it at that. My first mistake was ignoring the changes that had just taken place. Zeus had just had his first taste of darkness, and Brooklyn had just had his first taste of his true power.

Ever so slowly, his darkness grew.

Ever so slowly, my grasp around him tightened.

Ever so slowly, he started suffocating.

And ever so slowly, his escape plans began to take shape...

---

Leading up to the Justice Five tournament, while everyone else was training, Brooklyn was relaxing. He could afford to, after all. He could _always_ afford to relax...or so we all thought. He had never had to work hard before and he _still_ won. The last thing on his mind was the possibility he could _ever_ lose, let alone to Kai of all people.

There's a first time for everything.

Before his second battle with Kai, Brooklyn had been used to always getting his way. Things always went according to plan with minimal to no effort on his part. At the start of this round, everything appeared to be happening as it usually did. But he didn't take Kai's heart into account; he didn't take Kai's _spirit_ into account. I myself had counted on Brooklyn to win, it never occurred to me he could ever be beaten, and maybe that's why he lost...All of us, him included believed Brooklyn to be infallible. Garland had even commented that Brooklyn, the one that had been meant to be our secret weapon looked almost _human_. We all thought of him as something godly, unapproachable.

I had never stopped to consider that the chosen one who had never had to work hard for anything in his life, who had never struggled with anything or lost a match would break the second any of those things changed. The concept of change in general must have terrified him. Brooklyn was the kind of person for which the world was constant. It was always the same for him.

His abilities made it impossible for him to learn the pain of loss.

He had never lost.

His abilities made it impossible for him to learn how to work hard.

He had never had to work hard.

His abilities made it impossible for him to experience friendship.

He has _always_ been alone.

To Brooklyn, what a member of society could see as "normality" was a stranger to him but his second battle with Kai changed almost everything.

He had never lost until that day.

He had never had to work hard until that day.

He has _always_ been alone, more so on that day than ever.

Unlike Kai, Brooklyn had no one that would tell him it was alright he had lost. I could never be that person for him, it wasn't in my nature. Instead, I stood back and I watched. I watched as Brooklyn shrugged Kai off as nothing. I watched as he threw everything he had at Kai only to have the teen come back for more. I watched as Brooklyn began to sweat. I watched as Brooklyn began to panic. I watched him grow desperate. I watched him lose, and I lost him break before me. I watched, and I did _nothing_. I allowed his dark side to devour him, I let it win.

And I had no regrets...not just yet anyway.

I suppose Garland has always been a better friend to Brooklyn than I could ever hope to be. He didn't want Brooklyn to battle Tyson, but I did. I had never thought it possible: the diamond in the rough losing? I needed Brooklyn to prove himself once more...I needed Tyson to prove me wrong, that he was the true prodigy. I needed to prove to myself, and everyone else my judgment never faltered. Garland was concerned for Brooklyn; I was concerned for my own reasons.

"Garland, show some support for your teammate," I scolded as I opened the door. Was it support to back up my decision to send Brooklyn out to battle in his current condition? Was it support to agree with something that could kill what was left of his purity? I quickly shook off the thoughts. 

I gazed inside the obscure room, no sound coming from within it. Darkness shrouded every corner consuming all in its path, Brooklyn's soul included. Rays of light from the hallway cut through the ambiguous shining their golden radiance on the surrounding area. I made my way toward Brooklyn hesitantly, unsure of what I'd find.

"It's okay," I soothed when he came into view. It was _far_ from okay. "It's alright; it's not your fault," I said softly. A haunted look ran through his empty gaze. I wondered if he had mistaken me from Kai but I quickly shook the idea off. "You had no reason to believe you wouldn't win this match when you have never lost before," I assured, receiving no response. A frown crossed my features at the hollow look on his face.

"I-I lost?..." he croaked. "No...it can't be..." Once again his own little world seemed to overtake him, a frown gracing my lips. 

"Snap out of it," I ordered. "This sport has no place for spoiled brats that always get their way," I barked.

"You mean...me?..." Brooklyn questioned as I handed him his launcher. Something deep within him clicked as he put it on. Zeus had his host back, and I had my jewel back.

"Brooklyn..." Garland gasped, trying to step forward. I cut him off keeping my arm outstretched as the redhead began to laugh like he had when he had beaten Kai. This time it was obvious he had succumbed even further into the evil within him. A cold fear ran through me, goosebumps rushing up my arms. I did nothing to show the terror and guilt within.

"Shall we begin our training once more?"

"Oh, yes coach. Let's begin at _once_." 

Hole after hole soon littered the wall and I couldn't help but wonder if they were similar to those in Brooklyn's heart. I watched on offering advice every once and a while, and this time, there was no doubt in my mind; Tyson would lose.

The rest of the day was spent training in silence.

---

I suspect Brooklyn's return must have been quite the shock for everyone.

But it wasn't for me.

Not only because I had chosen him for this, he was ready.

_Day by day_ he had trained.

_One by one_ he had mastered a new skill. 

I still couldn't fathom the full extent of his powers though it never occurred to me that I should worry he might not have been able to control himself. All I was worried about was the win. 

"Shall we begin Tyson?" Brooklyn whispered, his head lowered and concealed by shadows.

"You're on Brooklyn," Tyson said as he prepared for launch.

It was perhaps the most historic beybattle in history, and I didn't stick around for the ending. I watched the beginning. I watched Brooklyn start to crumble. I watched him finally crack, and Tyson rush forth to save him. I left out of fear of Brooklyn's power, and faith in Tyson to save him.

But _not_ faith in him to win.

Brooklyn would win.

He always did.

I only came back toward the end to watch Boris' downfall and see the chosen and my brother battle. Brooklyn was whole for perhaps the first time in his life...and for once, he wasn't alone. I could have stayed, but I didn't have to. I had already seen all I needed to see. Brooklyn had proved himself once more. My search was over, and I had been foolish to think anything other than that.

I had hoped to continue to train Brooklyn. After all, I had spent my entire life looking just for him. But when I went looking for him I discovered according to Garland that he had left toward the battle's end and was no where to be found once it was over. It was a pity really..._Day by day_ I had conducted my search; _one by one _I had rooted out the weak to make way for the golden ones, the chosen few that shined with all their glory during their beybattles. But as many golden ones as there were...there was only _one_ diamond in the rough, and I had found him.

Brooklyn is the one I had been looking for all my life, and while he has slipped through my fingers for the time being...I will find him once more. I'll hunt him down even if I have to search the masses day by day, and

_one_

_by _

_one_.

---

Well, there you go. I hope you've all realized there is a valuable lesson to be had from this fanfic:

Be friends with Rae through livejournal, email correspondence, or instant messenger, and she writes you stuff.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY KAIRIA AND FLAMESOFFURY'S MOTHER!


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